Ashburton shooter John Snowden. Photo Robyn HoodHe might have been the best performed shooter out of the New Zealanderss in the rifle shooting Long Range World Championships, but John Snowden could only manage ninth place in the strong international field in Trentham.

Fresh off a second-place finish in the National Championships, Snowden shot a score of 691.39, six points clear of fellow Kiwi Malcolm Dodson in the 10th.

Further up the leaderboard, it was a domination job from the shooters from Australia, with Stephen Negus taking the gold medal and Paterson Cup with a score of 703.43, while is fellow Australian Mitchell Bailey took out second place, shooting 702.65.

Only one competition remains for the more than 450 shooters that initially descended on Trentham two weeks ago, the Palma Match, which is the team’s world championship event, for which Snowden is representing New Zealand.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 9 February 2019